Marcus O'Dair
{{short description|English writer, musician and academic}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
Marcus O'Dair is an English writer, musician/manager, broadcaster and lecturer. He is most notable for his work as part of the band Grasscut, described by Clash magazine as "genuinely daring electronica artists".{{cite web|last1=Cullen|first1=Miguel|title=Ones To Watch: Grasscut|url=http://www.clashmusic.com/feature/ones-to-watch-grasscut|website=Clash|date=5 March 2010 |accessdate=25 September 2015}} He is also notable for his 2015 biography of musician Robert Wyatt, a book described in the London Review of Books as "fascinating".{{cite journal|last1=Harding|first1=Jeremy|title=Short Cuts|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n22/jeremy-harding/short-cuts|journal=London Review of Books|date=20 November 2014|volume=36 |issue=22 |accessdate=25 September 2015}}
Career
O'Dair works as both a music lecturer and journalist.{{cite web|last1=Delingpole|first1=James|title=Double vision|url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/arts/arts-feature/123556/double-vision-4/|website=The Spectator|accessdate=20 August 2015}} He is also the author of Different Every Time: the Authorised Biography of Robert Wyatt,{{cite book|last1=O'Dair|first1=Marcus|title=Different Every Time: The Authorised Biography of Robert Wyatt|date=9 July 2015|publisher=Serpent's Tail|location=London|isbn=9781846687600}} which was published by Serpent's Tail{{cite web|title=Different Every Time: The Authorised Biography of Robert Wyatt|url=https://serpentstail.com/different-every-time.html|website=Serpent's Tail|accessdate=26 July 2015|archive-date=28 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328221613/https://serpentstail.com/different-every-time.html|url-status=dead}}Review: {{cite journal |author=Thomson, Ian |date=21–27 November 2014 |title=Rock bottom and back again |journal=New Statesman |volume=143 |issue=5237 |pages=51}} and features a foreword by Jonathan Coe.{{cite web|title=Different Every Time|url=https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/general-books/biography-autobiography/Different-Every-Time-Marcus-ODair-introduction-by-Jonathan-Coe-9781846687600|website=Allen & Unwin|accessdate=26 July 2015}} The book was described by The Guardian as "exhaustive and affectionate",{{cite news|last1=Penman|first1=Ian|title=Different Every Time: The Authorised Biography of Robert Wyatt by Marcus O'Dair – review|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/26/different-every-time-authorised-biography-of-robert-wyatt-by-marcus-o-dair-review|work=The Guardian|date=26 November 2014 |accessdate=20 August 2015}} and as a "meticulous and vivid account". He co-compiled the accompanying compilation, released by Domino Records.{{cite web|title=ROBERT WYATT – DIFFERENT EVERY TIME – 17TH NOVEMBER 2014|url=http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/news/11-09-14/robert-wyatt-euro--different-every-time-euro--17th-november-2014/|website=Domino Record Company|accessdate=26 July 2015}}
As a writer, he has written for publications including The Guardian{{cite web|title=The Guardian – Marcus O'Dair|url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/marcus-o-dair|work=The Guardian|accessdate=26 July 2015}} and the Financial Times.{{cite web|title=I'm enjoying myself with words|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fcb76f34-46a5-11dd-876a-0000779fd2ac.html|website=The Financial Times|accessdate=26 July 2015}}
O'Dair is a regular studio guest on The Freakzone (BBC 6 Music) with Stuart Maconie,{{cite web|title=Stuart Maconie's Freakier Zone|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rwkjd/broadcasts/2013/07|website=BBC|accessdate=26 July 2015}} and in 2015 recorded an essay about swimming in the Lake District for BBC Radio 3.{{cite web|title=Marcus O'Dair – Swimming Stories|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b053hdsl|website=BBC|accessdate=26 July 2015}}
Along with the songwriter Andrew Phillips, O'Dair is one half of Grasscut, who have previously released two albums on Ninja Tune (1 Inch: 1/2 Mile{{cite web|title=Grasscut 1 Inch / ½ Mile Review|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/cm4z|website=BBC|accessdate=26 July 2015}} and Unearth{{cite web|title=Grasscut – Unearth (Review)|url=http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/grasscut-unearth-review|website=Indie London|accessdate=26 July 2015}}) and a third on Lo Recordings, 2015's Everyone Was A Bird.{{cite web|last1=Brusse|first1=Bryan|title=Reviews, Grasscut – Everyone Was A Bird|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/17928-grasscut-everyone-was-a-bird-review|website=The Quietus}} The band have been described as building their reputation on "writing about situations and places, rather than standard pop songs",{{cite web|title=Grasscut – Everyone Was a Bird (Lo Recordings) – Review|url=http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2015/05/19/grasscut-everyone-was-a-bird-lo-recordings/|website=god is in the tv|date=19 May 2015 |accessdate=20 August 2015}} with The Quietus reviewing Everyone Was A Bird as "that rare slab of post-rock that uses the genre's textures and general ethos of exploration to create new sounds instead of rehashing old ones".
O'Dair is also a lecturer in Popular Music at Middlesex University.{{cite web|title=Marcus O'Dair|url=http://www.mdx.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/staff-directory/odair-marcus|website=Middlesex University|accessdate=26 July 2015}}
In 2016 O'Dair co-authored a report on the use of blockchain technology within the music industry titled Music On The Blockchain.{{cite web|last1=Ward|first1=Rich|title=Interview: Music on the Blockchain – Marcus O'Dair|url=http://www.11islouderthan10.com/2016/07/interview-music-blockchain-marcus-odair.html|website=11 is louder than 10|accessdate=2 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328221615/http://www.11islouderthan10.com/2016/07/interview-music-blockchain-marcus-odair.html|archive-date=28 March 2019|url-status=dead}}
References
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External links
- [http://marcusodair.com/ http://www.marcusodair.com/]
- [https://twitter.com/marcusodair https://twitter.com/marcusodair]
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)